


A Wolf in The Garden

by RainbowDogma (Steot)



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F, Fantasy, Gen, Slow Burn, Trust, Witchcraft, Witches, Wolves, wolf shifter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-28
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:27:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22944043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Steot/pseuds/RainbowDogma
Summary: A wolf who is not quite a wolf makes a deal with a witch in the woods...
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Female Character
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	1. First Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is the first time i've attempted any creative writing in... A very long time. I'm excited to write this story i've had kicking around my head for a while now, I guess we'll see how it goes ^_^

The sun's last rays have just disappeared behind the thick trees when a young she-wolf, half-starved, mangy-furred and fearful, comes upon a cottage deep in the woods.

A chill nighttime breeze ruffles the shabby, matted fur barely clinging to her scrawny body. She scents cooking meat in the air, hot and savory, and follows the odor to the window of the cottage, where she peaks in cautiously.

The main room of the cottage appears to be empty, and a large cauldron bubbles atop the fire in the hearth. The scent of well-seasoned meat from the pot is tempting, but who would leave cooking food unattended for very long?

She eyes the closed door at the other side of the room, where she presumes the homeowner to be. Surely she would hear footsteps approaching the door and be able to flee back out the window? There appear to be no other interior doors, only the front door to the left of her window.

The wolf weighs her options for a few long moments but finally her hunger wins out, and she begins to creep slowly, silently, through the window.

Her eyes on the hearth, she doesn't notice when she steps into the center of a loop of sturdy rope, which suddenly pulls taught, snaring her leg.

She yelps in fear, whipping her body around in panic, until she freezes, catching sight of the owner of the cottage, the other end of the rope clutched tight in the tall human’s fist.

"I thought I heard someone creeping about my window... though I must say you're not who i was expecting."

The wolf growls, but the sound is strained, her throat tight from fear. She's a rather small wolf, and even if she wasn't half-starved to death could probably not defend herself from an able bodied human.

Her captor steps into the light of the fireplace, revealing a tall woman with unusually short blond hair, wearing a simple, loose-necked linen shirt with short sleeves, and rough looking cropped trousers, her feat bare.

The human stares a moment, considering.

"Well, well. You  _ are  _ quite unexpected aren't you? Hmm..." The human ties her end of the snare to a sturdy looking post in the middle of the room before placing her hands on her hips and facing her guest once more.

The wolf trembles, her hind-brain a din of panic and fear, terrified whining growing louder and more frantic as the seconds tick by.

The human grimaces, rolling her eyes dramatically, "Enough. I know you understand me. Be silent, I mean you no harm.."

The wolf gulps, cowering on the floor, the whining grows quieter but doesn't completely stop.

The human sighs, her expression turning sympathetic. "Well, you must be desperate indeed to try and steal from my cooking pot... Hmm. How about... you and I make a deal?"

The wolf's head tilts, confused.

"It's nearing springtime, soon all sorts of vermin will be running amok in my garden," she gestures out the window as she speaks, "I can tend my garden during the day, but even I must sleep sometime."

She walks to the hearth, taking a wide but shallow bowl and filling it with thick stew, before taking another bowl and filling it with fresh water from the hand-pump at her sink.

"Guard my garden during the night, little wolf, and I will share my home and food with you." The human gently places the bowls within reach of the wolf on the floor, leaning on one knee as she gauges the wolf's reaction.

"Well? Do we have a deal then?" The wolf pauses, considering, even as drool drips from her muzzle to the floor. She locks eyes with the human, and gingerly steps forward, clumsy with her one snared foot, but offers a paw. The woman smiles and takes the paw gently in her hand, shaking it, sealing their deal.


	2. First Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two! Keeping things short so I don't burn myself out on it. My creative flow is very picky and I don't want to lose my motivation for this story! Please feel free to leave critique in the comments.

The warm, savory stew filling her belly was almost enough to completely distract from the dull stinging that persisted in her ankle. The rope from the snare was coarse and had chafed the thin skin of her leg, but the Witch had applied a soothing balm after freeing her, and then disappeared into another room of the cottage while the wolf hastily devoured the rest of her stew.

Furry ears flicked occasionally, nervous, as footsteps and the shuffling sounds of objects being moved and thumps as things were dropped to the floor came to her. Anxiety gnawed at the wolf's stomach, what is that witch doing in there? But no. She'd had the wolf snared, if she wanted her harmed the witch would have done so while the wolf was unable to escape. Obviously. And yet...

But before those thoughts could continue, the door swung open again, and the witch strode back into the main room of the cottage, dusting off her hands and looking pleased about something.

“Well, I think that should do fine for now. Come along little one.” 

The witch gestured for the wolf to follow her back into what the wolf could now see was a bedroom. Besides the tall, messy bed taking up most of the small space, the floor was almost completely obscured by large stacks and mismatched shelves full of thick, ancient looking books. 

The wolf stepped softly, her gaze minding her feet so as not to disturb any of the loose papers also littering the floor, until she came to what the witch had been working on. It looked like a sort of lean-to, but made of blankets and pillows, nestled between two of the taller bookshelves and beneath a small circular window. The witch pulled aside one of the blankets on the front, revealing a sort of nest shape made of all sorts of pillows and cushions inside.

“Well, it should suit you better than the dirt outside or my floorboards, anyhow. Go ahead,” she waved toward the pile of pillows, “You look like you haven’t the energy to stay up all night even if I expected you to, you can start your first shift tomorrow evening.”

The wolf’s ears lay back and her eyes grew wider, it was obvious a lot of the bedding was taken right from the witch’s own bed. She hesitated for a few long moments, but the witch’s smile was gentle, and she was patient, and eventually the little wolf took a few more careful steps forward, until she could curl up in her new little den.

“There, comfortable?” the witch’s smile grew a bit wider, her kind eyes squinting.

The wolf felt as though she might sob from sheer happiness. She’d long lost count of how many nights she’d spent huddled on the cold earth, doing her best to find shelter from a biting night wind, when all along this witch was here, waiting to open her home. The wolf merely nodded, offering a grin seeming unwise given her non-human face, and thumped her tail happily against the pillows. 

“Good! I’m glad. You’ll of course feel free to rearrange as you like, but for now, get some rest. I’ll check on you in the morning.” The witch went to replace the front flap before she paused. “Oh, I nearly forgot, my name is Zita… I suppose I’ll figure out what to call you tomorrow.” She chuckled a bit as she tugged at the blanket, leaving just a small triangle of open space near the floor, letting in the soft, orange light from an oil lamp on a nearby bookshelf.

The witch,  _ Zita _ , thought the wolf, walked briskly back to the other room, closing the door behind her. The wolf let out a heavy sigh, content and comfortable, and placed her chin on her paws. Her eyes refused to close however. Again, her thoughts poked and prodded at her fear;  _ what if this is just part of it? What if she is still planning something? Perhaps she enjoys lulling her prey into false comfort, give them hope, and watch it flee before she strikes the killing blow? _ The wolf whined softly to herself.

Her shoulders were tense, hackles raising, and her feet itching to run as far and as fast as she could, but finally the rest of the world won out over the scared little thing in her mind, her wide eyes finally growing heavy. The warm, soft bedding beneath her, the warm, delicious food in her belly, and the undeniable safety she felt just having a roof over her head again, was more than enough for sleep to take her swift, and deep.


End file.
